MELBOURNE, Australia – Production Audio, EAW's Australian distributor, provided several EAW models for the 2010 Moomba Festival featuring Vanessa Amorosi, Colin Hay and other performers. This year's event – and gear – proved resilient enough to survive severely stormy weather.
"During the festival, Melbourne had its worst ‘superstorm' in 50-plus years," noted Graeme Stevenson, managing director for Production Audio. "Hailstones up to four inches in diameter, flash flooding and up to three inches of rain fell within a few hours on Saturday. Still, the festival stage was a big success, despite the storm, and everyone was impressed and thrilled that the system performed so perfectly while being subjected to these conditions."
The loudspeaker configuration was also noteworthy – it included 16 EAW KF740 3-Way Full Range Line Array Modules, arranged eight per side, and eight EAW SB1002 Large Format Flyable Subwoofers, arranged four per side. Powersoft K10 amplifiers powered the P.A. system.
"We ran the KF740 system completely full range and deployed the SB1002 array in a cardioid fashion on the deck," said Ben Clarke, system & projects manager for Production Audio. "The system ran in true stereo, with no aux-fed subs or other enhancements. There was much concern and disbelief about our placement instructions, but when the system was phase-aligned and balanced, which took less than 10 minutes, it resulted in unanimous jaw-dropping – a very effective festival configuration."
Colin Hay's FOH engineer, Mike "Ace" Baker, who has also worked with Sammy Hagar, Aretha Franklin and Hay's former band Men at Work, was impressed with the durability of the system. He stated, "Wow. We had no sound check, it was pouring rain and it was the first day of our tour. But who cares? The rig sounded amazing and seemed to chase the rain away. EAW once again retains its spot on the top of my riders."
As the popular saying goes, the show must go on. As Stevenson, said, "after the system was dried out from Saturday's storm, it performed flawlessly on Sunday and Monday, running for a good 10 hours straight on both days."
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